The main celebrations of the death of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands and our national saint will undergo certain changes this year. The program of the traditional National St. Wenceslas Pilgrimage in Stará Boleslav near Prague was very limited.
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Due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus infection, all accompanying events that traditionally complement the St. Wenceslas pilgrimage have been canceled, only a limited number of people will take part in the church sections, and of course veils are mandatory for all of them.
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Skull of St. Wenceslas
Photo: Petr Horník, Právo
The service on Mariánské náměstí will take place in a closed sector for a maximum of 500 invited participants. A three-meter-wide corridor will be created around the sector, which will separate it from passers-by. There will be disinfection at all entrances to the square. The Mass will be broadcast by Czech Television on the ČT2 program.
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| Program of Monday’s St. Wenceslas celebrations | |
| 7.00 Holy Mass on the tomb of St. Wenceslas in the Cathedral of St. Vít, Václav and Vojtěch | |
| 7.00 Morning praises in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary | |
| 7.30 a 8.30 Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Stará Boleslav | |
| 10.00 Pilgrimage Mass on Mariánské náměstí in Stará Boleslav, main celebrant: Cardinal Dominik Duka; preacher: Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc | |
| 14.00 Prayer for the nation at the Palladium of the Czech lands in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary | |
| 17.00 Departure of the relic of St. Wenceslas Square at Prague Castle | |
| 18.00 Holy Mass in the Cathedral of St. Vít, Václav and Vojtěch | |
| Source: církev.cz |
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Stará Boleslav is the oldest Czech pilgrimage site connected with the St. Wenceslas tradition and the Marian cult. The National St. Wenceslas Pilgrimage was restored by the Roman Catholic Church in 2003. During his visit in 2009, the then Pope Benedict XVI visited it.
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Sunday procession with Palladium
St. Wenceslas Chorale and the national anthem of the former Czechoslovakia on Sunday in Prague on Wenceslas Square near the statue of St. Wenceslas ended the traditional procession with Palladium of the Czech lands. The procession with the image of the Madonna of Old Boleslav, which has been one of the symbols of Czech statehood for centuries, was attended by several dozen believers.
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The march, organized by the Movement for the Restoration of Spiritual Traditions in cooperation with the Collegiate Chapter of St. Kosma and Damián in Stará Boleslav, began at noon with a mass in the St. George’s Basilica at Prague Castle and taking over the palladium of the Czech lands at the tomb of St. Ludmila.
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There were about 120 participants in the Castle, and about eighty people came to the prayer at the Marian Column in the Old Town Square with the singing of religious songs and prayers. According to the organizers, the participation was lower than in previous years, due to the cold weather and fears of a coronavirus pandemic.
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The ceremony was led by Piotr Józef Nowicki, who also carried a copy of the palladium of the Czech lands, a metal relief depicting the Virgin Mary with Christ, which according to legend was donated by St. Wenceslas his grandmother St. Ludmila. “The procession takes place on the occasion of the feast of the main patron saint of the Czech lands, St. Wenceslas Day, the Day of Czech Statehood and also to honor the upcoming 1100th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Ludmila (in 2021 – pozn. red.), ”Nowicki recalled.
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Poll
Have you ever participated in the St. Wenceslas pilgrimage?
Yes, we go to her regularly.
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I’ve been to it a few times.
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No, and I don’t even plan to.
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A total of 282 readers voted.
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Saint Wenceslas in Czech history
Saint Wenceslas was assassinated on September 28, 935 by his opponents, including his brother Boleslav I. He was proclaimed the eternal ruler of the Czech lands as early as the 12th century, and the St. Wenceslas cult spread throughout Europe to Charles IV.
During World War II, he was abused by the Nazis, and the communist regime again claimed Václav as a weakling.
It has been a public holiday on September 28 since 2000 and is marked on the calendar as Czech Statehood Day.
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